‘Sicker And Younger’ Patients Reported In States With Surging Delta Infections

NBC News: U.S. Passes 35 Million Covid Cases As California Tops 4 Million
The number of U.S. Covid-19 cases has surpassed 35 million as California became the first state to pass 4 million, according to an NBC News tally late Sunday. Almost 616,800 people have died from the disease in the U.S., according to the calculations. With schoolchildren returning to classrooms soon, many of them too young to be vaccinated, the pandemic is revitalizing. The most recent seven-day average of daily new cases, 66,606 for the week that ended Friday, jumped by 64 percent compared to the week before, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported, up from 40,597. (Johnson, 8/2)

Stat: What Delta Has Changed In The Covid Pandemic 
In some respects, the Delta variant has changed everything in the Covid-19 pandemic. In others, the same rules still apply. Before the variant of SARS-CoV-2 began spreading rapidly in the United States, Covid-19 vaccines were drastically cutting the number of cases. They were preventing people from being infected. And vaccinated people who got infected were unlikely to infect others. That’s all still true, even with Delta — if just to a lesser extent. (Joseph, 7/30)

In more news about the spread of the coronavirus —

The Washington Post: Six Passengers On Royal Caribbean Cruise Test Positive For Covid Despite Vaccine Requirement, Testing
Four vaccinated adults and two unvaccinated minors tested positive for covid-19 during routine end-of-trip screening Thursday on Royal Caribbean International’s Adventure of the Seas. All six passengers were quarantined right away, and their travel companions and close contacts tested negative. The passengers left the ship Friday with their travel groups in Freeport, Bahamas, and they were sent home on private flights, with transportation provided directly to their homes, according to the cruise line. USA Today’s Morgan Hines, who was on the ship, was the first to report the news. (Sampson, 7/30)

San Francisco Chronicle: Millennials Are Driving San Francisco's Coronavirus Surge
Coronavirus cases are surging in San Francisco and infections among adults aged 25 to 39 are the main driver of the increase. In May, 25- to 39-year-olds accounted for just over 35% of monthly new cases, but in July, they’re up to 50%. This surge is part of a general spike in the number of coronavirus cases in San Francisco, which has outpaced the statewide infection rate. “It’s a perfect storm,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a professor of medicine specializing in infectious diseases at UCSF. (Jung, 8/1)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Cases Continue Upswing In L.A. County Amid Concerns About Delta Variant
The resurgence of the coronavirus in Los Angeles County, fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant, continued Sunday with 3,045 new cases and five more deaths tallied, according to county public health officials. Authorities cautioned, however, that the latest figures might not be complete because of reporting delays on weekends. More than 1,000 people are now hospitalized with the virus in L.A. County, according to the latest update issued by the county Department of Public Health. (Alpert Reyes, 8/1)

Anchorage Daily News: ‘Sicker And Younger’: Unvaccinated People Are Driving A New Hospitalization Trend In Alaska’s COVID-19 Wave
Alaska’s latest and still growing COVID-19 wave involves a jarring new trend: younger hospital patients, at times sicker than the older people who needed medical care last year. Last winter, as the peak of the coronavirus pandemic ripped through the state, the infected patients seen by Dr. Nick Papacostas in his Anchorage emergency room tended to be older, in their 70s and 80s. Now the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19 is driving up case counts around the country and in Alaska, where as of Friday barely 44% of the total population was fully vaccinated. And now Papacostas is seeing people in their 40s, 50s and 60s with more serious respiratory problems, who need additional oxygen or even mechanical ventilation, he said. None are vaccinated. (Hollander, 7/31)

Also —

The Washington Post: Micheal Freedy Texted Fiancee Before Dying Of Covid-19, ‘I Should Have Gotten The Damn Vaccine’ 
Micheal Freedy was not opposed to vaccination, his fiancee said. Like many Americans who have yet to get their coronavirus shots, the 39-year-old father just wanted to wait and learn more about how people reacted to the vaccines. “All we were doing is waiting one year,” Jessica DuPreez, 37, told The Washington Post on Sunday. Then everything changed. This weekend — DuPreez’s grief days old and her voice breaking — the Las Vegas mother of five gave interview after interview to spread the same message: Get the vaccine. She said Freedy came to the same conclusion early on in the fight with covid-19 that put him in an intensive care unit in July. (Knowles, 8/1)

Houston Chronicle: Vaccinated Galveston County Woman With Pre-Existing Conditions Dies Of COVID-19, Authorities Say
A Galveston County woman who was fully vaccinated against COVID-19 has died of the virus, the Galveston County Health District said. The woman, who was between 61 and 70, had pre-existing medical conditions. She died July 15, but county officials reported the death on Friday. The health district did not provide any additional information about the woman. Nearly all COVID-19 deaths in the United States are among the unvaccinated, the Associated Press reported. While “breakthrough” infections of vaccinated people are possible, the news organization found they accounted for just 1.1 percent of all virus hospitalizations at the end of June. (Despart, 7/31)